Conversation in the Cold
by ilovetvalot
Summary: Fluffy piece between JJ and Rossi...As ever, I don't own Criminal Minds.


Author's Note: Thanks to Tonnie for tossing this plot bunny my direction. Just a fluffy little piece because I couldn't resist. Please drop a review if you have a free moment. As always, I don't own Criminal Minds nor any of its characters. Thanks for reading!!

"Conversation in the Cold"

He found her sitting on a bench overlooking the small pond in front of the Federal Building. She had no business being there, especially in the cold February breeze without a coat. He'd been on his way back from yet another court deposition, when he'd caught sight of her gleaming blond head. There was only one woman he knew with hair that glistened like that, no matter what the weather. As he drew closer to her perfectly still body, he knew something was wrong. Could see it by the way she held herself…the dried tears on her cheeks - and he felt his heart clench.

"Jennifer?" David Rossi asked, coming to stand beside her still form. "Are you all right?"

Closing her eyes briefly, Jennifer tried to smile. It would have to be _him_ that found her, the BAU's own resident legend. He was the one person she wouldn't be able to fool - able to lie to. He'd see straight through any smokescreen she tried to throw up. Choosing honesty over a subterfuge he'd see through anyway, JJ spoke slowly. "No, I don't think I am. I'm not sure I ever will be again either," she said sadly.

Seeing her obvious dissolution, David took off his overcoat and draped it around her shoulders before lowering himself to the bench beside her. "Talk to me, Jennifer. Tell me what's wrong," he ordered softly.

JJ sighed as she felt the the heat from his overcoat warm her. "Look at me, David. I'm four months pregnant, alone, it's the coldest part of the year and all the flowers are gone. What isn't wrong?" she asked in a shattered voice.

Giving her desolate face a sidelong look, David asked, "Do you want Will back, Jennifer? After everything, would you really want him back?"

Thinking back to his reaction after she'd told him about the baby, JJ could honestly answer that question. "No, I don't. He didn't want her," she said covering the small mound of her stomach with a gentle hand, "but I do. But, I don't want to do this alone either. I don't know if I _can do this alone."_

"_You aren't alone, Jennifer. None of us are going to allow you to be alone, least of all me. I can understand why you'd feel overwhelmed and frightened, but I promise you, Jennifer, you're anything but alone. The cold weather will pass and the flowers will be back, honey. I swear they will. Everything will be okay, Jennifer."_

"_The living legend can predict the future now, too, huh?" Jennifer said, offering a watery smile._

_Sliding a comforting arm around her thin shoulders, Rossi pulled Jennifer to him as he leaned over to give her a reassuring kiss on the temple. "Only the parts that I exert a bit of control over, sweetheart," he whispered gently against her head. "And, I can damn well tell you that you aren't alone in any of this. Not all men abandon the women they care about."_

_Lifting her face to look into his dark serious eyes, Jennifer felt her heart quicken. Because it sounded like the great man sitting beside her was making her promises. And, if there was one thing left in the world that Jennifer Jareau knew without doubt, it was that David Rossi kept his word._

"_Thank you, David," she whispered, lifting her lips to kiss his cheek as he looked down at her. So instead of a quick kiss on the cheek, Jennifer felt warm gentle lips cover her own._

_Finally breaking the tender contact, David stared down into the deep blue eyes of the woman who'd managed to thaw an icy heart. "Don't thank me, Jennifer. I've got my own agenda," he told her with a wicked smile and a wink._

_Later that evening, as she walked to her apartment, she found a not taped to the door. In a familiar bold scrawl, she read eight words - "I told you the flowers would be back!" Opening her front door in confusion, Jennifer was met by a veritable botanical garden. Roses, lilies, tulips, orchids, black eyed Susans…every flower imaginable filled her living room. Awestruck, JJ made a complete circle of her living room and couldn't help the smile that overtook her face. Yes, she thought, David Rossi definitely had an agenda and he'd suddenly just made it very clear. _


End file.
